This was a wonderful field trip! The temple and Reverend Kaz were not what I expected. He was very laid back and humorous.It was a lot easier to learn about Buddhism from the lecture than from the documents, although those provided a more monastic viewpoint.
I really enjoyed the meditation. Usually I have a lot of trouble focusing, but this was much easier. I think the concept of "looking for the silence" along with the slowly fading out bell sound helped. No one will be ever be able to experience total silence or completely clear their mind, so the idea of constantly working towards that point works better. I was very relaxed- almost fell asleep at one point but I stopped myself! It felt much shorter than 15 minutes, and when I walked outside I felt completely refreshed. It was honestly incredible, like a weight had been lifted off of me. So I guess I finally was able to meditate somewhat successfully.
I also liked the idea of mediating during other activities too. I think I've actually done music meditations before, just without calling it that. It's really interesting to see how different pieces of the song work together. I still want to know which Lady Gaga song the girl was listening to. What would definitely be good for me is eating meditations. I usually only eat when I am bored or distracted- and I won't notice just how much I'm eating. I tend to eat pretty inconsistently because of this. Now I'm trying to focus on having set meals, where I actually take the time to sit down and enjoy the food, as opposed to eating entire boxes of chips without realizing it. I'm already feeling a bit better because of it!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
I Ching Interpretation (K'un and Ken)
K'un- The Receptive, Earth
This hexagram is made up of broken lines only. The broken lines represents the dark, yielding, receptive primal power of yin. The attribute of the hexagram is devotion; its image is the earth. It is the perfect complement of THE CREATIVE--the complement, not the opposite, for the Receptive does not combat the Creative but completes it . It represents nature in contrast to spirit, earth in contrast to heaven, space as against time, the female-maternal as against the male-paternal. However, as applied to human affairs, the principle of this complementary relationship is found not only in the relation between man and woman, but also in that between prince and minister and between father and son. Indeed, even in the individual this duality appears in the coexistence of the spiritual world and the world of the senses. But strictly speaking there is no real dualism here, because there is a clearly defined hierarchic relationship between the two principles. In itself of course the Receptive is just as important as the Creative, but the attribute of devotion defines the place occupied by this primal power in relation to the Creative. For the Receptive must be activated and led by the Creative; then it is productive of good. Only when it abandons this position and tries to stand as an equal side by side with the Creative, does it become evil. The result then is opposition to and struggle against the Creative, which is productive of evil to both.
Movement in lines 3 and 6
Ken - Keeping Still, Mountain
The image of this hexagram is the mountain, the youngest son of heaven and earth. The male principle is at the top because it strives upward by nature; the female principle is below, since the direction of its movement has come to its normal end. In its application to man, the hexagram turns upon the problem of achieving a quiet heart. It is very difficult to bring quiet to the heart. While Buddhism strives for rest through an ebbing away of all movement in nirvana, the Book of Changes holds that rest is merely a state of polarity that always posits movement as its complement. Possibly the words of the text embody directions for the practice of yoga.
This was a fun exercise, but in a way it felt like reading a horoscope. I can force my situation to fit what is described, but if I had a different reading, I would've molded my opinion to fit that. Initially I misunderstood the lines with movement, and thought that my second hexagram was Chen. Trying to figure out what that had to do with me and then finding out that I wasn't even looking at the right thing lessened my interest.
Although I do see how both of these hexagrams could relate to me. I became pretty frustrated reading the description of K'un. For years I have been beating myself up about not putting enough effort into my own writing and creative output. I remember reading a section from Foucault's Pendulum (a book I never finished) where a character talked about how he could only edit books, never write them. It struck me then, and I was again reminded of it looking at the hexagrams. Am I truly incapable of occupying the position of The Creative, or am I just too lazy and nervous to try?
All my life I have been "yielding". Reading not writing, listening not speaking. Always waiting for someone else to put themselves out there so that I won't have to. It takes me too long to take one step forward. Do I really need to be advised to yield further?
And "Keeping Still"? Christ, I barely leave the house. When have I ever moved to quickly, or too much?
This hexagram is made up of broken lines only. The broken lines represents the dark, yielding, receptive primal power of yin. The attribute of the hexagram is devotion; its image is the earth. It is the perfect complement of THE CREATIVE--the complement, not the opposite, for the Receptive does not combat the Creative but completes it . It represents nature in contrast to spirit, earth in contrast to heaven, space as against time, the female-maternal as against the male-paternal. However, as applied to human affairs, the principle of this complementary relationship is found not only in the relation between man and woman, but also in that between prince and minister and between father and son. Indeed, even in the individual this duality appears in the coexistence of the spiritual world and the world of the senses. But strictly speaking there is no real dualism here, because there is a clearly defined hierarchic relationship between the two principles. In itself of course the Receptive is just as important as the Creative, but the attribute of devotion defines the place occupied by this primal power in relation to the Creative. For the Receptive must be activated and led by the Creative; then it is productive of good. Only when it abandons this position and tries to stand as an equal side by side with the Creative, does it become evil. The result then is opposition to and struggle against the Creative, which is productive of evil to both.
Movement in lines 3 and 6
Hidden lines.
One is able to remain persevering.
If by chance you are in the service of a king,
Seek not works, but bring to completion.
Dragons fight in the meadow.
Their blood is black and yellow.
Ken - Keeping Still, Mountain
The image of this hexagram is the mountain, the youngest son of heaven and earth. The male principle is at the top because it strives upward by nature; the female principle is below, since the direction of its movement has come to its normal end. In its application to man, the hexagram turns upon the problem of achieving a quiet heart. It is very difficult to bring quiet to the heart. While Buddhism strives for rest through an ebbing away of all movement in nirvana, the Book of Changes holds that rest is merely a state of polarity that always posits movement as its complement. Possibly the words of the text embody directions for the practice of yoga.
This was a fun exercise, but in a way it felt like reading a horoscope. I can force my situation to fit what is described, but if I had a different reading, I would've molded my opinion to fit that. Initially I misunderstood the lines with movement, and thought that my second hexagram was Chen. Trying to figure out what that had to do with me and then finding out that I wasn't even looking at the right thing lessened my interest.
Although I do see how both of these hexagrams could relate to me. I became pretty frustrated reading the description of K'un. For years I have been beating myself up about not putting enough effort into my own writing and creative output. I remember reading a section from Foucault's Pendulum (a book I never finished) where a character talked about how he could only edit books, never write them. It struck me then, and I was again reminded of it looking at the hexagrams. Am I truly incapable of occupying the position of The Creative, or am I just too lazy and nervous to try?
All my life I have been "yielding". Reading not writing, listening not speaking. Always waiting for someone else to put themselves out there so that I won't have to. It takes me too long to take one step forward. Do I really need to be advised to yield further?
And "Keeping Still"? Christ, I barely leave the house. When have I ever moved to quickly, or too much?
Monday, March 5, 2012
Line-By-Line Interpretation
Heaven and earth are enduring. The reason why heaven and earth can be enduring is that they do not give themselves life.
Heaven and earth are eternal and do not die or end. Because all that lives must die, heaven and earth do not die, and are thus enduring. Heaven and earth embody all, instead of taking on one specific individuality or life, they encompass everything, and they are everlasting.
Hence they are able to be long-lived.
Heaven and earth do not give themselves life, which is why they are able to be long-lived. They are not focused on the self, so they do not give life to themselves. They are everything, so they are long-lived.
Therefore the sage puts his person last and comes first,
The sage does not focus on his own life, his individual self. Instead, he puts it last by focusing more on the whole, and being more like heaven and earth. Because he does not focus on his own life and self, he is able to benefit and have a good life.
Treats it as extraneous to himself and it is preserved.
The sage separates himself from the way as a whole, and in this way he can preserve his own life. The sage does not think in terms of the mortal self, but eternal heaven and earth. In this way he preserves himself.
Is it not because he is without thought of self that he is able to accomplish his private ends?
The sage takes himself out of his own situation and because of this he benefits and is able to live a fulfilling life and accomplish things.
Qi Gong
I did not expect this to be nearly as hard as it was. I thought the exercise would be similar to what we did early in the year- 18 minutes of silence. I didn't do as well at that as I had hoped then, so I wanted to try and improve with the meditation. Unfortunately, Qi Gong proved much more difficult.
I was almost immediately thrown off by the positions described in the tape. I found the sitting position uncomfortable and I wasn't sure where to put my hands and tongue. The physical aspect of meditation distracted me the entire time, and by the end I had given up on reaching a meditative state. I thought some of the imagery provided by the master was gorgeous and peaceful, but I couldn't focus on it.
Something I found interesting was the master/translator talking about naturally expressing sounds and movements you feel inside. I heard many sounds in my mind, but of course, I did not act on them. No one did. I think I would've felt uncomfortable letting myself go, or seeing anyone else do it. I have to wonder if it would be different trying this meditation completely alone. Maybe the presence of others struggling like me was what was really distracting.
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